According to a recent survey from the American Society of Landscape Architects, 96.2 percent of homeowners want to add lighting to their yard and other outdoor areas. Exterior lighting is the most popular outdoor living feature among homeowners, and many homes are lighted far beyond traditional porch lights and lampposts.
Strategically placed landscape lighting is used to illuminate walkways, accentuate key features like plants, trees and architecture, and provide a sense of depth to a yard at night. Besides extending the length of time you can spend outdoors in the summer, landscape lighting is a bonus during the winter months, especially when the sun sets earlier or if you walk outside before daylight. The popularity of landscaping lighting is due in part to improved technology. Newer low-voltage systems are significantly easier and less expensive to install than the line voltage systems used in large estates and commercial properties. These low-voltage systems provide flexibility for custom lighting designs that can be easily changed or updated over time. An average system of 15 to 20 lights with a 600-watt transformer costs about $320 per light, installed.
Low Voltage Lights
Although it’s smart to integrate lighting into your landscape plan from the start, “the beauty of low voltage is that you don’t have to plan ahead. You can add them later to a landscape or move them as a tree grows or you change the shape of a bed,” says Joe Densieski, president of NU Green, a landscape design firm in Riverhead, N.Y. Low voltage lines only require six-inch deep channels rather than old-line voltage systems that required 18-inch deep trenches. With newer light systems, wires are buried deep enough to avoid mowers, and they are hassle-free to remove.
Additionally, many of the newest systems operate with LED lights that use much less electricity and save you the inconvenience of changing bulbs for years. According to manufacturer CAST Lighting, “While 120-volt fixtures are typically designed to flood light in all directions, low voltage fixtures are designed for precise control of the light beam. Instead of wasting light energy, the designer directs the light where it is needed.”
Path Lights
Walkways and paths are key areas to illuminate so you can navigate through your yard safely at night. Light the way with a series of low fixtures with squat canopies, which control glare and serve as design element or more subtle directional fixtures. Wall lights and tread lights on stairs further enhance safety. You can even light the way with lights embedded in artificial rocks.
Accent Lighting and Moonlighting
“Go for a focal point,” advises Densieski. He suggests shining a light down from a tree into a swimming pool to produce a shimmery glow that bounces off the side of the house. “The flickering light looks phenomenal,” he says. “Beautiful and relaxing.”
Strategically placed low-voltage fixtures that pivot on a base can be directed to accentuate trees, plants, water features and architecture. Use can-shaped well lights recessed in hardscaping or turf to uplight a tree and create the illusion of moonlighting.
“You don’t need a ton of lights to make a big impact,” advises Pete Marsh, a landscape designer with Buck & Sons in Columbus, Ohio.
Security Lighting
Motion-sensor floodlights are intended to scare off intruders, but they can also be counter-productive as the too-bright light creates instant, blinding glare and deep shadows, where trespassers can hide. Lower intensity lighting selectively illuminates larger areas of your property and won’t cause night blindness when you’re peering out your window trying to figure out what just went bump in the night.
“Potential criminals are much less likely to attempt to hide in a well-lit landscape than a dark one,” says Marsh. “You can add analog or digital timers to your system so that the lights will automatically turn on and off at a time set by you. A photocell can make things even easier by turning your lights on at dusk and off again at dawn.”
Installation
Even though low-voltage systems have simplified landscape lighting, it’s best to hire a professional to ensure you get the correct size transformer and proper ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlets, which prevent electrical shock in wet locations. “You don’t want overload the transformer, which will cause the lights to burn out or dim,” cautions Marsh. “I always recommend a larger transformer so you can add more later if you want. The system should be designed only up to 85 percent capacity so you get good lighting for each fixture.” 
